SpAN Interview with Amy M. Young

Your humble SpAN Editor here. Over the next several weeks I have the privilege of interviewing the talented authors and contributors of the Spoonie Authors Network. Please read and share these posts to promote and encourage these amazing people. We spoonies need each other! Thank you for following us! You can find more interviews under Author Interviews.

This week I interviewed not only a super cool writer of rock fiction, but also the graphic designer who created the two-spoon logo for the Spoonie Authors Network! Meet author Amy M. Young!

Amy’s upcoming novel, A Desert Song, is currently with her editor!

(Please note that responses to my questions are minimally edited to preserve the integrity of the author’s answers.)

You’ve been a long-time writer of rock fiction, from flash fic to full-blown novels. What do you love about that genre?

I’ve always been musical; it seems to be in my genes. My grandmother’s family is very musical—from singing to instruments, there are very few of us who don’t do something musical. So combining it with my love of writing seemed like a natural extension of that love of music.

If I’m not mistaken, you got your start as a writer through fan fiction. Can you share with us your opinion of that vehicle?

I think Charlie Stross has the best take on it. Basically, don’t mess with my characters in a way that would impact my ability to make a living, if that makes sense. While I’d like to keep them locked up in my mental toy box for only me to play with, they’re out there, and they’re going to be played with by others. I have a keen respect for intellectual property, but I also know that if someone is writing, that’s good. And if they feel comfortable with my characters, that’s good too.

Your upcoming novel, A Desert Song, features the lead singer of the band Torrent, which you created in your short fiction. Tell us about this story, and what inspired you to write it.

It’s actually the other way around. I had written the very first draft of what would become A Desert Song when I was 18 on my parent’s Old Windows 3.1 Compaq. Somewhere in the universe a 3.5” floppy might exist with bits of it on it. The short fiction came from a need to get out the stories that my characters were throwing at me so I could work on the big picture.

As someone who’s editing A Desert Song, I need to know how do you come up with such brilliant lines as: “Karma was a bitch who took pleasure in repeatedly kicking me in the nuts.”

My sense of humour has always been very dry, and I get told I have a quick wit—the essentials of what most call British Humour. So, I got to unleash that in writing Jon, as he was born in Abingdon, England.

In one of your SpAN articles, you got real about destructive versus constructive criticism. What advice would you give to other writers who’ve been discouraged from continuing their work?

In a phrase: haters gonna hate. You can write the best book in the universe, and someone is still going to hate it because it’s not their cup of tea. I know that sounds facile, but it’s not. It leads to “living well is the best revenge.” People who want to tear someone down get really, really pissy when someone they tried to tear down is doing well. So enjoy what you do, and if you upset someone’s apple cart who wanted to tear you down, smile and keep moving onward and upward.

If you could do a genre mashup for a novel, what would it be?

Other than rock fiction and something (done that, but never finished the project), I’d love to do horror and science fiction. I’ve always been a Stephen King fan ever since my mother gave me a copy of The Bachman Books, and my husband reignited that by giving me a copy of The Stand.

Will you be doing NaNoWriMo this year? If yes, what will you be working on?

I’m going to attempt it, yes. I’m going to try writing the second book that follows A Desert Song.

Okay, it’s shameless plug time! How can we connect to all the Amyness on the interwebs?

Amy M. Young is the author of the upcoming novel, A Desert Song. She lives in the National Capital Region with her husband, her daughter, and a bunch of fur babies. She primarily writes rock fiction and her work can be currently found on her website. You can also follow Amy on Facebook and Twitter.

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We’re writers and authors who also deal with chronic illness and/or disability. This network is to educate and encourage, share laughter, tears, and our love of words. Please contact us if you’d like to be a guest blogger!

Note: The articles in this blog are our personal stories and are not supposed to be substitutes for medical advice.

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